Dear Sakura
by daisypockets
Summary: Ino Yamanaka has a deep secret, one that's turning her enitre life upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**_ Ino had fallen into a pattern that year. Woke up, freshened up. Went to the kitchen to make herself a light breakfast while chatting half heartedly with her parents. She would gather up her things to go on missions with Team Asuma. On days when she had spare time... Those days were too few and far between. She often found herself bumming around her parents flower shop, wishing for a different life, a different brain. Anything. _**

_** That particular morning, Team Asuma was supposed to meet up. **_**_She wanted to stay home_****. Covers around her neck, sobbing. **

**_"I'm starving, let's go get some barbecue." Choji said. _**

**_ "You're always starving." Ino sighed. _**

**_ Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Man, what a drag..."_**

**_ Suddenly from around the corner appeared Team Kakashi. This brought butterflies to Ino's stomach, making it hard for her to focus on anything but one specific member of Kakashi's team: Sakura Haruno. _**

**_ "I'm gonna be Hokage one day! Believe it!" Hollered Naruto to no one. _**

**_ This caused Sakura to slam her fist into the side of Naruto's head. "Naruto, do you have to be so annoying?!" _**

**_ The last to join the group was Sasuke who immediately caught Sakura's attention. _**

**_ "Hi Sasuke!" She practically drooled at the boy's feet. _**

**_ Ino refrained from rolling her eyes at the sight of it. Instead, she played along to keep face. _**

**_ "Hey, Sasuke. How are you today?" Ino batted her eyes adorably. _**

**_ Sasuke muttered something unpleasant before going off to Hot Topic to replenish his eyeliner supply. _**

**_ Sakura burst into tears and let out a blood curdling scream. "Sasuke?! Where are you going? Take me with you! I love you, Sasuke!" _**

**_ Ino's neck vein nearly popped as she watched the scene in front of her. "Sasuke would never love someone like you." _**

******_Someone so beautiful and delicate_****_, Ino thought to herself, _****_but I do. I love you, Sakura._**

**_ Sakura turned bright red and tried to sock her female peer in the face. "HOW DARE YOU!" _**

**_ Ino hesitated before uttering the words, "Suck it up, Billboard Brow."_**

**_ Kakashi showed up then bringing the fight to an end, only a whopping twenty minutes late. He ushered Sakura and Naruto away to start a new mission. _**

**_ Asuma gathered his team up and they headed the opposite direction. Ino resisted looking back to stare at Sakura one last time. _**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Ino trudged through the streets of the Hidden Leaf feeling less than stellar. With Choji constantly snacking and Shikamaru uttering "What a drag..." about everything, Ino was at a loss for true friendship. **_

_** That was why it was so odd when she stumbled into the office of the Third Hokage. She stood out in the hall to wait, hearing the Third Hokage belligerently berating Naruto. **_

_** Everyone knew Naruto had the Nine Tailed Fox trapped inside of him, everyone but Naruto. **__**Maybe that's why he acted out all the time,**__** Ino thought to herself. **_

**_Once the Third Hokage was done with Naruto, the boy blasted out of the Hokage's office dressed in that ugly orange suit of his. _**

_** "I'm going to be Hokage someday! Believe it!" He shouted as he ran out of the building. **_

_** Once Ino made sure the nuisance was gone and out of sight, she timidly knocked on the door that was ajar. **_

_** "Yeeeees?" Breathed the elderly old man. **_

_** Ino walked forward, entering the office. The Third Hokage seemed out of breath from screaming at Naruto. **_

**_Flustered and nervous, Ino pushed herself to snap out of her school girl behavior. She wasn't _**_**Hinata for god's sake.**_

_** The Third Hokage sighed in relief when seeing it was only Ino. **_  
__  
_** "I was afraid you were Naruto, coming back to try to claim my job again." The old man revealed as he chuckled. "Horrible child that one, almost as insufferable as my own grandson." **_

_** Ino took his words with a grain of salt. He was very old, after all. **_

_**"Sit down, won't you Ms. Yamanaka?" He gestured to the seat across from his desk. **_

_** "Sir Hokage... I need some advice." **_

_** The Third Hokage cringed. "This isn't about your period is it? Because I don't think I'm qualified to give you that kind of advice..." **_

_** Ino waved her hands around. "No, no, no." **_

_** "Thank god." The man said. "What is this about then?"**_

_** Ino reluctantly spoke. "Well... the thing is... I like this girl. And there's been rumors around the village that you might be, you know..." **_

_** "Homosexual?" He said. "I am, dear." **_

_** Ino exhaled. "I'm in love with Sakura!" The young girl blurted out. "But she doesn't love me back. I know she couldn't."**_

_** This prompted the Hokage to let out a loud cackle, deep from inside his chest. "Girl, let's dish." **_

_** That's when the old man dug out a bucket of nail polish and a stash of chocolate. **_

_** By the end of the afternoon, Ino felt much better than she had in months. **_

_**"Wow!" She exclaimed. "Pink is definitely your color!"**_

_** The Third Hokage put his hand on top of Ino's. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Ino was pulled into the Third Hokage's office one morning. She was surprised to see that Sakura and Naruto were already there, Kakashi too was there - busy reading Makeout Paradise**_**_ as if his life depended on it. _**

**_"Since Sasuke is in the hospital, Ino will be joining the team temporarily to help out on a top secret mission." _**

_**Ino was both happy and sad. How could she possibly maintain composure around her beloved Sakura? **_

_**Naruto objected. "How are we going to get a mission done when the girls are just going to be at each other's throats?! I'm going to be Hokage someday. Believe it!"**_

_**Saukura spun around to face the boy, sucker punching him with as much force as possible. "WHY YOU LITTLE-" **_

_**Kakashi put his book away and stepped in between them. "C'mon now. Let's go." **_

_**Ino stayed behind to address the situation with her new best friend. **_

_**"Why did you do that?! I can't work with Sakura."**_

_**The Third Hokage laughed, moving from his chair. "Have fun now, dear! I'm on my way out, I'm having fat injected into my ass so maybe I can finally get that no good Iruka to agree on a date."**_

**_Ino stood there feeling flabbergasted. "What the..." _**

**_Kakashi sensei popped his head in. "Let's get a move on, Ino." _**

**_The girl followed wordlessly. _**

**_Outside, Sakura and Naruto were having a who-loves-Sasuke-more argument. _**

**_"Naruto, you idiot! Sasuke is the air that I breathe! Without him, I feel like a fish without water."_**

**_"You smell sort of like one, too." Naruto grumbled, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I'm gonna be hokage one day, believe it!"_**

**_Ino joined in, wagging her finger in Sakura's face. "Sasuke is too much man for you to handle, little girl." _****_Better stick with me,_****_ Ino thought to herself in delight. _**

**_"Guys, we're going to have to get going if we want to get to our mission asap. It's important that we use discretion with this one."_**

**_They all turned their attention to Kakashi. _**

**_"What is it, Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked. _**

**_"Something awesome? I want to kick some ass!" Naruto shrieked. _**

**_Kakashi spoke slowly. "Well, there's a strange man a few villages away, torturing the people that live there."_**

**_"Wow!" Sakura said. "I wish Sasuke were here, he could protect m- I mean... he'd be so interested in this mission."_**

**_Naruto turned red with envy. "Sasuke would only be protecting one person and it would be me!"_**

**_Fed up with the three's constant bickering, but mostly with Naruto, he gets an idea. He drags a lightening blade into the pavement as he charges slowly towards the boy._**

**_"Shut up, Naruto!"_**

**_The boy was crumbled like a discarded piece of homework in front of his teammates. "Believe it!" He shouted, switching around. _**

**_After Naruto recovered, they all walked in the direction of their destination._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_As they travel closer to their mission, the more antsy Ino becomes. She found it extremely difficult to come up with snarky comments to deflect her real feelings for Sakura. Naruto wasn't helping matters by incessantly whining about Sasuke, the teen heartthrob of the Hidden Leaf. _**

**_ "I love Sasuke's eyes, especially when they sparkle in the sunlight." Naruto gushed._**

**_ Sakura took it personally and punched Naruto sharply in the spleen. "YOU KNOW SASUKE IS MY MAN! I CALLED DIBS."_**

**_ Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Well, you know Sakura - Sasuke probably doesn't like girls with giant foreheads. Right, Ino?"_**

**_ Ino snapped back to reality, her head had been somewhere else completely. "Yeah, that's right. Sakura could fit a map on that forehead of hers." _**

**_ Sakura turned red and attempted to get in Ino's face but that subsided when Kakashi unburied his face from _****_Makeout Paradise. _**

**_ "You're going to have to keep it together, guys." He said, then he went back to his book immediately. _**

**_ "Man, I'm hungry. I wish we could stop somewhere to eat." Naruto grumbled. _**

**_ "You sound like Choji." Ino pointed out. _**

**_ Naruto grew enraged by Ino's comment, blasting his fist into the tree next to him. "That'll show you! I'm going to be Hokage someday! Believe it!"_**

**_ A few hundred feet more and they arrived at the village in trouble. Suddenly they all heard a terrible noise. _**

**_ "What is that, Kasashi sensei?" Sakura asked. _**

**_ Kasashi peered through the trees. "It appears to be Log Man from the first opening." _**

**_ They all gasped in unison as Log Man continued aggressively picking up logs to whip at passersby. _**


End file.
